Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, August 3, 2005

2005-08-03 04:00:00 PDT Sacramento -- State Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata is racking up huge legal bills defending himself in a continuing FBI investigation into his personal and official business dealings, incurring $260,000 in unpaid bills during the second quarter and leaving his legal fund with just $2,000 in cash.

In a report filed Monday with the California secretary of state, Perata, D-Oakland, said his legal defense fund had raised just over $205,000 in donations during April, May and June but paid slightly more than that to two law firms and a private investigator.

More than half the money raised into the fund in the second quarter came from just four developers, including a single $50,000 donation from Angelo Tsakopoulos, a frequent Democratic donor who has given to Perata in the past, $30,000 from Harbor Bay Isle Associates, owned by longtime Perata supporter Ron Cowan, and $25,000 from Berkeley Land Co.

Perata also received $25,000 donations from Foster Interstate Media, an outdoor advertising company based in San Francisco, and Lewis Katz, the owner of the New Jersey Nets pro basketball team.

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Perata opened the fund earlier this year and began raising money for his legal defense in February. He is the subject of a wide-ranging federal law enforcement inquiry that began in November looking into whether he received any personal income in exchange for legislative work or for wielding his power as a top state politician.

The inquiry began after reports in The Chronicle and other media last year detailed how Perata carried legislation and exerted his influence on behalf of companies while receiving personal income of as much as $100,000 in some years from a longtime friend, who was retained by those companies.

Perata has denied wrongdoing, saying his business dealings with the man, Timothy G. Staples, were unrelated to his official government duties.

Though agents have gathered evidence to present to a grand jury and questioned current and former employees, sources familiar with the inquiry said it had been fairly dormant in recent months, after the federal prosecutor who was overseeing the case was appointed to a judgeship by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.